Let's do the Time Warp Again
by PhantomGirl1731
Summary: Description inside - briefly put, 3 mutants and their adventures with the crew aboard the star ship Enterprise.
1. Chapter 1

**Alright, so I'm not sure what's possessing me to post this. I blame the "Time Warp" since listening to this was what gave me the idea to actually go through and post it. **

**So this is a crossover of sorts. An AU of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Avengers, and now with Star Trek 2009 mixed into it...after seeing Into Darkness I was inspired to do so. The way it is crossed over it involves 2 OCs I created, along with Kitty Pryde and a few other mutants in the future. I placed this in the "Star Trek" category alone because it's where the story is primarily set.**

**Reviews and constructive criticism are appreciated...I hope you guys like it, and don't find it way too out there. Bear with me, I've only seen the X-Men movies and the recent 2 Star Trek movies, and some of TOS. If I get characters OOC then let me know and I'll work to fix that in later chapters, if it gets to that point. **

**Long winded authors note over, I do not own any of the aforementioned movies/comics etc. The 2 OCs, Case and Ryder, are mine, along with anyone not recognizable. I'm just borrowing them for the time being, and seeing where I can take the story. **

**Since this story was never actually supposed to see the light of day, I hope you all enjoy the first part.**

* * *

_Case's eyes shot open, and finding herself in a small tube-like container, she panicked and extended her claws, slicing through the container like it was made of butter. She pulled herself out, and trembled as she braced herself and sat on the top edge, feeling the jagged metal edges cut into the material on the backs of her thighs. She was still in her SHIELD uniform, and she looked up at the confused scientists in front of her. Her voice was rough from lack of use, "Sorry I…" talking was actually a struggle, which she found strange, "I…don't…like closed…spaces." _

Case shot up in bed at the sound of her alarm clock and reached over to slap the 'snooze' button…and slashed through her table lamp with her adamantium claws. "Dammit…" She hissed as she retracted the claws.

"That's _not_ what you were saying last night," the blankets beside her chuckled in a tired voice.

"Huh?" Case looked over at the lump of blanket lying next to her, looking for any evidence of slash marks in the blanket. Not finding any, she replied with an uncomfortable, "Oh yeah…uh…good morning."

The blonde haired, blue eyed man she'd brought home the previous night poked his head out from under the blankets, "Good morning."

Case looked at the clock and cursed under her breath, "I'm running late…I've gotta get going!" She got out of bed and walked toward the bathroom, not bothering to cover her naked body.

"Not very modest either!" he added.

"You've already had sex with me, so seeing me naked should come as no surprise," Case rolled her eyes, kicking his jeans toward him, "Look, I'm running late to my new job…I've gotta get showered, changed…all that fun stuff."

"New job huh?" the man asked, stretching out on his back and lacing his fingers behind his head.

"Yes," Case nodded, and was walking around, grabbing the guy's clothing.

"And what job is that, if I may ask?"

"I…" She looked at him, "I am one of the new Science personnel aboard a ship in Starfleet."

"Oh? Which one?"

Case had a hint of pride in her voice as she said, "The _USS Enterprise._ Heard of it?"

The guy chuckled under his breath, "I may have heard of it." He looked at the clock, "Speaking of which, I need to get going myself."

"Exactly," Case nodded, and as the guy threw his legs over the bed and got to his feet she shoved his clothes into his arms. "That being said, it was nice to meet you…er…"

"Jim," The guy smiled.

"Right, Jim…it was very nice to meet you, and…stuff," Case's cheeks darkened, "But I've gotta get going, so why don't you show yourself out?"

"Alright…see you around, Cassidy."

* * *

"Mama?" Stevie Rogers was almost three-years-old, and the spitting image of his father, with blonde hair and blue eyes. He stood holding the hand of his uncle, who stood waiting for his twin sister to show up.

"She'll be here soon, won't she Ryder?" Kitty asked, looking to Ryder for an answer.

"Course she will, there she is over there," Ryder nodded in the direction of Case, who gave a huge yawn as she walked across the hangar.

Ryder chuckled as his sister finally made it, "Late night, Case?"

Stifling another yawn, Case marched her way toward the group, "Save it, Ryder."

"Someone got lucky last night," Kitty cocked an eyebrow at her, to which Case gave her friend a glare of death.

"What that mean?" Stevie asked.

"It means your Aunt Kitty needs to learn to be quiet," Case said, kneeling down to lift her son into her arms. "Incidentally…how are you supposed to function on board the ship? Won't you short circuit something if you phase through it?"

Kitty gave a shrug, "The Admiral basically said don't phase through anything."

"Helpful," Case blinked and made an annoyed face.

"What else is there to do at this point?" Kitty asked, and Case had no answer for that.

"Look alive, someone's coming," Ryder cut into their conversation, and all three straightened when the tall, pointed-eared first officer of the _Enterprise_ approached them.

"Commander Spock?" Case asked.

"That is correct," The man nodded. He opened his mouth to speak again, when he was cut off by a tiny voice.

"Why your ears pointy?" Stevie asked, cocking his head at the man.

"I am half-Vulcan, and Vulcan ears are pointed," Spock responded, a confused look on his face.

"Sorry, he's never seen a Vulcan before," Case smiled weakly.

"Indeed," Spock said. "Miss Pryde, Doctor McCoy will be expecting you shortly. As the _Enterprise's_ science officer the two of you will be working with me." He addressed Kitty then the siblings respectively. "Follow me," He said, turning toward the ship.

The trio shrugged then followed the half-Vulcan onto the ship.

* * *

**Love it? Hate it? Please be nice, but let me know what ya guys think. Any questions PM me, but I will try to explain everything in time.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Still don't own 'em...next chapter.**

* * *

_**Several Hours Later...**_

"And Gordon will go here," Case smiled, situating the last of the intricate glass cages holding her experimental creatures.

She heard the door hiss open, and sniffed the air instead of turning to face the newcomer, "There a reason you're here?"

"Nope, just wanted to see what science labs on board the _Enterprise_ look like," Kitty said, leaning against a metal counter. This counter ran along one side of the room, filled with various types of flowering plants. "It's a good thing you don't have allergies," she added, stroking the petals of one of the plants.

"That's a type of stink weed…you might not want to touch it for very long," Case said, reading a PADD. "Four tribbles check…" She finally looked up at her friend, "Shouldn't you be working with Doctor McCoy?"

"He heard you had tribbles aboard and got a little nervous," Kitty shrugged. "Plus my shift ended about a half-hour ago."

"And to finish McCoy sent you here?"

"I volunteered. The Captain came in for a checkup and started making a ruckus," Kitty said, frowning thoughtfully at Case, "By the way, you're making that face again."

"What face?" Case asked.

"You're blushing."

"I am not..." She caught her reflection on one of the metal lab tables, "Dammit…is it that bad?" she asked as she looked up.

"Nah…unless Rudolph's sick, then Santa Claus can hook you up to his sleigh," Kitty giggled.

Case took a deep breath, and took a seat at her desk.

"Why weren't you put into the medical section? What with your experiments with tribbles and all?" Kitty asked, walking to the far wall and opening one of the glass cages, pulling out a tribble. "'Sides…these little guys are so cute—"

Case swirled around in her chair, "Be careful with Fluffy…he hasn't been feeling well," She took another deep breath, and smirked when Kitty gave a grossed-out look and put the tribble back in its cage.

"I thought these little guys were dangerous to ships."

"That's why they're contained in their own little cages. As long as they stay in there the ship should be reasonably safe."

The door hissed open again, and a male voice demanded, "Why are there tribbles on my ship?"

"Captain's done in sick bay," Kitty chuckled. She turned to smile at the Captain, "Hello Captain Kirk."

The blonde-haired, blue-eyed Captain looked none-to-pleased at the presence of the little furry creatures on board, and stood with folded arms and an angry expression on his face as he looked from one mutant to the other.

"They are _my_ tribbles," Case frowned at the man.

"Tribbles are dangerous; I can't have them running—"

"They're not running loose."

"They're special tribbles," Kitty pointed out.

Kirk blinked, "I'm sorry, _special_ tribbles?"

"Yeah…I was researching tribble genetics, trying to figure out a way to inhibit their reproductive systems. After their first litter is born, give them a vitamin or injection and they won't reproduce again right away. That way no permanent changes need to happen to the tribbles and they can breed like normal when the treatments are stopped."

"And this actually succeeded?"

"Er…not exactly."

"Not exactly?"

"She succeeded in breeding ninety-six normal reproducing tribbles and four sterile ones," Kitty deadpanned.

"Don't you have a sick-bay to be in?" Case asked, turning to face her friend.

"I already told you, my shift ended—"

"Miss Pryde…I was hoping to talk to Miss Howlett here in private," Kirk interrupted.

"Um…okay sir," Kitty nodded, then said to Case, "I can relieve Ryder of babysitting duty."

"Good plan…" Case said, getting to her feet with her PADD in hand.

Kitty left the room and the door hissed shut behind her.

"So…" Kirk now clasped his hands behind his back.

"You wanted to discuss something with me, Captain?" Case asked, starting to examine her plants, occasionally taking notes about them on the little pad in her hand.

"Yeah…uh…it's not exactly a question I normally ask…" He now rubbed at the back of his neck, "Can you look at me without blushing?"

"Not at the moment," She turned to face him, "Is that really what you wanted to ask?"

"Well, and about the tribble experiments," Kirk shrugged. "Why tribbles?"

"They do a lot of damage to ships…but properly contained they seemed to be harmless," Case shrugged. "Though after the failed experiment and a classroom laboratory filled with reproducing tribbles, my professor told me to stick to studying plants."

"And so your studies are done?"

"No…I'm studying those four in the cages…wondering why the experiment both flopped and succeeded with them. They're not reproducing, but that's on their own accord, like Kitty said, they're essentially sterile…which I already explained to Commander Spock when we came aboard."

"True well…tribbles you know," Kirk cleared his throat, "But uh…about the other thing."

"Last night?"

"Yeah…last night."

"Won't be a problem…well, other than the tomato-face blush," Case frowned, chewing on her lower lip. "Which I'm sure will fade with time."

"Sooo…we're good?"

Case chuckled in disbelief then turned to look him in the eye, "Yes, Captain. We're good. No hard feelings, no strings attached…and nobody has to know."

"Agreed," Kirk nodded.

When he still stood there, Case asked, "Is there anything else?"

"Nope, that was about it," He looked visibly relaxed now, "I'll uh…I'll see you around." And with that he left the room.


	3. Chapter 3

**Still don't own the characters...reviews would really be appreciated.**

* * *

Case finally called it quits about an hour and a half after the Captain left. Not that she wanted to…as it turned out, one of the flowers she was working with launched pollen when it bloomed…no, 'bloomed' was the wrong verb. Apparently this species, which Case could only call the 'Kaboom-Bloom' had swollen to twice its size before exploding, sending pollen into the air that now coated her lab tables and herself with very fragrant seeds that needed to be scrubbed away.

Sighing and once again being reminded why she _hated_ working with plants, she grabbed her PADD, put in a call to maintenance and left the lab for the night. She caught a couple of strange looks on the way back to her quarters, walking kind of stiffly because the pollen had clung to her uniform in a sticky pink mess, and smelling like she was wearing way too much perfume. Not a terrible odor but enough to be headache inducing to anyone in the same room with her.

Her door hissed open, and the trio inside went dead quiet as they turned to look at her.

Ryder cocked an eyebrow at her, "Why do you look like you just escaped a Pepto-Bismol factory?"

"Lab accident," Case sighed, walking into the room.

"You smell pwetty Mommy," Stevie smiled at her.

Case finally took a look at the group. They were seated on the floor in a circle, a deck of playing cards between them. "Go Fish?"

"Yeah…when did they change the rules to four of a kind?" Kitty asked.

"A couple hundred years ago, Kitty," Case sighed. "Incidentally, if they ever invent a time machine, I'm going back to where we were supposed to be…more specifically before flowers could explode."

"Yeah…but there you can't brag about how you're really two hundred and seventy some odd years old," Ryder shrugged.

Case made her way toward the dresser sitting on the far wall, "I thought Starfleet told us not to spread that around."

"They don't care if we flaunt our mutations, but our actual ages scare them?" Ryder rolled his eyes.

"If I remember correctly," Case said, placing her PADD on top of the dresser before kneeling down and pulling the bottom drawer open to grab some pajama pants, "You were never one to _flaunt_ your mutations."

"You gots mu-ta-ton Uncle Wyder?" Stevie asked, struggling to repeat the word as his hand of cards lying forgotten in front of him.

"A mutation, yeah we all do kid," Ryder explained, "Me, your Mommy, and your Auntie Kitty too."

"Daddy too?"

The three adults froze. It wasn't often that Stevie asked about his father, and both Kitty and Ryder turned to face Case, curious as to what the answer would be.

Case shoved the top drawer of her dresser shut, her pajamas in a stack on the flat top of the wall unit. She chewed on her lower lip for a minute, before saying, "He wasn't exactly a mutant…but he had something done to him that made him mutate."

Kitty and Ryder exchanged strange looks, both silently asking each other, _that's the best she's got?_

"Mutate?" Stevie asked.

"Yeah," She turned to her son, clean clothes in hand. "He wasn't born a mutant. See your daddy was kinda…sick, but he went to his doctor friend and he made him mutate, or change, which made him all better."

"Ah okay," Stevie nodded, and picked up his cards again. "Uncle Wyder, do you have any rainbow fish?"

Case grinned in satisfaction, and disappeared into the bathroom, the door hissing shut behind her.

"Uh, no kid, go fish," Ryder said, glancing at his hand of cards, then looked at Kitty, who shrugged.

When Case left the bathroom fifteen minutes later, free of any pink residue and in clean clothes, grabbed the PADD from the dresser and sat down on her bed as the trio continued their game of cards.

"Oh, by the way, I got some good news today," Ryder said, drawing another card from the pile.

"You've been traded to the Rams?" Case asked, making a notation on the device in her hand.

"No…" Ryder looked at her, "Would you put that thing down for a minute!"

Case sighed and lowered the PADD, "Sorry…what news did you get?"

"I was in the mess hall today…and I started talking about engines with none other than Montgomery Scott—"

"The head honcho of Engineering?" Kitty asked, surprised.

"Yeah…anyway, he liked my ideas and just general knowledge…he asked the Captain if I could be switched to Engineering."

"That's great!"

"Wait, why?" Case frowned. When both looked at her, she bit her lip, "Not that that's a bad thing…but why make the switch?"

"He thought I had potential," Ryder shrugged. "Said he thought I'd make a great asset down there."

"And what did the Captain say?"

"He doesn't seem to disagree with Scott on much, so he allowed it."

"And you're just gonna go down there, just like that?" Case asked, "What about Commander Spock?"

"After Scott made his case Spock said the decision was 'logical' to make," Ryder shrugged. "I like working with engines. Before I went into slumber land I was working with Cyclops to take over as a teacher at Xavier's school."

"Really? You never told me about that…"

Ryder cocked an eyebrow, "You never asked about it either. In fact you really didn't…" He glanced at Stevie, who took that moment to look at him, showing he was listening intently. He shook his head, "Never mind…but yeah so I report to Engineering in the morning."

"Hmm," Case murmured, "I thought you liked science."

Ryder shrugged, "I'm more excited about heading down to Engineering than working with plants…especially now that I know some explode and turn things pink."

Case rolled her eyes, "Fair enough…congratulations Ryder."

"Yeah thanks," Ryder said quietly. "Look, it's getting late and I've gotta get back to my own room…big day tomorrow and everything…see you guys later." With that, he got to his feet and walked toward the door, where it hissed open and shut behind him.

"Speaking of which, it's time for bed Stevie," Case said suddenly, which made the toddler frown.

"But—"

"No buts, bedtime," Case got to her feet, as the little boy raced for a door on the opposite side of the room, which led into a smaller room that counted as his bedroom. Case followed him, and once she'd wrestled her son into a pair of pajamas and tucked him into bed, she came back into the room to find a none-too-happy Kitty waiting for her.

"You could've at least faked a little enthusiasm," She said as the door hissed shut behind Case.

"I congratulated him," Case pointed out.

"Yeah, because you had to…you weren't the least bit excited for him," Kitty frowned. "It hurt him when you left, let alone the fact you never told him you were planning on leaving for SHIELD in the first place."

"You guys seemed to be getting along just fine without me…a damn near constant reminder when you guys took off on a mission and left me behind."

"You were paralyzed—"

"For about six months," Case said, folding her arms. "How do you explain the following two and a half years?"

Kitty sighed, "I'm not getting into this argument right now. This is a discussion for you and Ryder to have."

"Yes well, clearly Ryder doesn't want to talk to me," Case shrugged.

"Then maybe you should try to talk to him," Kitty said, heading for the door, "Goodnight Case."

* * *

**Ideas, comments, concerns...?**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer is still the same...love it? Hate it? Drop me a review...**

* * *

"Lieutenant?"

Case scrunched her eyes shut even tighter – if that was possible. It was the first time she'd had decent sleep in the last week since coming aboard this hunk of metal…the least whoever it was could do was let her keep it.

"Lieutenant Howlett?"

Case covered her head with her arms, which squished her face into something wet and sticky. She slowly lowered her arms and sat up, looking up at the speaker and staring into the blue eyes of Jim Kirk. "Yes Captain?"

"Sorry, you were sleeping in your breakfast," The Captain said, using his own meal tray to point to the one underneath Case's face.

"So I was…" Case said, "Incidentally…what's stuck to my face?"

"Looks like a pancake."

"Fantastic..."

"If you're not sleeping you should see Doctor McCoy, I'm sure he can give you something."

Case rolled her eyes, "Personally, I'd rather not see McCoy about this. I'll adapt and start sleeping soon enough."

Kirk chuckled, "But preferably not in your breakfast."

Case pulled the pancake off of her face, "Yeah…my replicated breakfast." She placed the pancake back onto the plate, wondering if she should still eat it at this point.

"Harumph," Another voice came from the other side of them.

"Can I help you, Ambassador Ferris?" Kirk asked, looking to the man who'd made the noise.

The first mission that had been given to the _Enterprise _was to escort the ambassador to a planet Case couldn't remember the name of to participate in negotiations for Starfleet.

"No," The ambassador simply said. "This is your ship, you can command your crew as you see fit."

Kirk's brow furrowed, "Thank you sir."

"But if you do have a crew member that is sleep-deprived, he or she can be unfit for duty, and that can lead to disastrous consequences," the ambassador said, then cocked his head at Case, "You're one of the mutants, aren't you?"

Back straightening for some reason at the way he used the term 'mutant', Case nodded, "Yes I am a mutant."

"What can you do?" Ferris asked bluntly.

"I have enhanced healing and I have bone claws. My skeleton was fused with adamantium, and therefore my claws look like blades coming out of my knuckles."

"Bone claws huh?" Ferris repeated with disbelief in his voice.

Case crossed her arms over her chest and curled her hands into fists, extending the three blades through each hand, which made both men take a step back. "I never joke about my six best friends."

"I see…well then, let's hope you don't prove to be a dangerous creature, Lieutenant Howlett," Ferris said, then turned on his heel and left the rec room, doors hissing and open and shut as he did so.

Case blinked, a look of confusion on her face when she asked, "What the hell was that supposed to mean?"

"Maybe he doesn't like mutants," Kirk shrugged.

"And you?"

Kirk frowned, "Me what?"

"Do you think I'm dangerous?"

"To someone that pisses you off, yes I think you can be quite dangerous," Kirk admitted as Case retracted the bone claws. "Doesn't that hurt?"

Rubbing at her knuckles, she said, "Every damn time." She looked back toward the door and frowned thoughtfully, "That ambassador reminds me of someone...I can't put my finger on it…"

"He's been a big pain in the…" Kirk trailed off, "Sorry, I shouldn't be discussing this."

"But the mutant thing you were okay with?"

"You, and Lieutenant Pryde and the other Lieutenant Howlett, are all labeled as mutants by Starfleet. All of the stuff you just told and showed to the ambassador is all in your file."

"Then why didn't he know any of that?"

"Because I'm the Captain…the only ones who have access to that file, on board this ship at least, are myself, Commander Spock, and Bones."

"Bones?"

"Doctor McCoy," Kirk corrected himself. He looked down at the tray in his hand, and shook his head, sitting down and placing said tray on the table.

"Why Commander Spock?"

"He's the officer you report to for your experiments, plus he's also the first officer. If I'm unable to perform my duties as Captain, he'll have to take over."

"Uh huh…" Case said, not really finding that a decent explanation. However, it was the one the Captain gave, so she'd let it go…for now. "And your thoughts on the lovely ambassador?"

With a sigh, Kirk began, "Arrogant blowhard…always saying that this is my ship to command, but always giving his advice whenever he sees fit…and never when it would be appreciated."

"Which I'm guessing is never?" Case asked as the door hissed open again.

Ryder now entered with Montgomery Scott, both discussing ways to improve the speed of warp by tweaking the _Enterprise_'s engine as they carried breakfast trays as well.

"Hey Mister Mittens!" Case called, and Ryder looked over at her. The two men walked over to the table and sat down as well, "Have you met Ambassador Ferris?"

"Yeah I have…he reminds me of Senator Kelly."

"That's what it was…I knew he was familiar," Case threw her hands in the air.

"Senator Kelly…" Kirk frowned. He recognized that name from Earth's history…

"He was a senator, back in 2000 wanted to pass the Mutant Registration Act…basically we were seen as public enemy number one…or at least mutants like…well, ones that can use say tactile hypnosis or that can phase through walls."

"Whatever happened to him?" Scott asked.

"Well a mutant impersonated him for the longest time," Ryder said, which made Case raise her eyebrows.

"You sure you wanna do that?" She asked.

Ryder shrugged, "We're gonna be working with these guys for a while…how bad could a little honesty be?"

"I heard about the mutants, the ones found in cryo-freeze," Scott said. Excitement and curiosity filled his voice when he asked, "Do we have mutants aboard the ship? That would be fascinating."

"We're two of those mutants," Case said.

"Really? What can you guys do?" Scott asked with the curiosity still in his voice.

"We both have enhanced healing…I'm the one that could use tactile hypnosis," Ryder waved a gloved hand. "It's not always as glamorous as it sounds. Imagine the surprise when we find out these types of things can actually be accepted in society."

"So ya just grab hold of someone and give them an order?" Scott asked.

"Pretty much…I wear gloves so it doesn't happen. I figured out how to control it a long time ago, but still, the gloves give me peace of mind."

"Back to Senator Kelly…?" Kirk asked.

"Oh right…well, there was this mutant named Mystique. She was a shape shifter, and had red hair, glowing yellow eyes…awkward as hell because she had blue skin with scales and ran around stark-ass naked."

Kirk choked on the juice he'd been drinking, and Scott simply raised his eyebrows.

"She had conveniently placed scales, so while she was female, and had a human body, she was scaly over the girl parts," Case explained.

"That just sounds weird," Kirk coughed.

"Back to the point, when Senator Kelly went missing, Mystique took his form and decided to try backtracking on the whole Mutant Registration Act."

"Why did the Senator go missing?" Kirk asked.

The siblings shared a look, before shaking their heads, simultaneously saying, "We don't know."

That led the conversation away from Senator Kelly and toward the _Enterprise_'s engines again. Of course the two knew what happened to the Senator, having been at Xavier's mansion when Kelly had been brought in. While they did share the truth about Mystique, for some reason they couldn't share the information about Senator Kelly and Magneto's invention at that point, if ever. While it was water under the bridge, happening quite some years into the past, neither felt comfortable talking about it…not even amongst other mutants.

There were just some events from Magneto's Liberty Island attack that they wanted to forget.


	5. Chapter 5

**See disclaimer in chapter 1...love it, hate it, let me know.**

* * *

Two months had passed since the mutants boarded the _Enterprise. _Kitty worked with McCoy down in the Med Bay, and always had an interesting story to tell about what happened to the Captain during an away mission that involved minor exploration duties.

Usually they all began with, "So the Captain was being a smartass…"

If the mission was a diplomatic one, the Captain seemed to be able to put on a mature face for the crowd. Not that Case knew any of this first hand…she avoided being in the landing party like the plague.

Ryder never seemed to care for them either, usually left in charge of the engineering duties while Scotty went down in a party, if either of them were needed at all.

Ryder had really found his niche in engineering…he almost had as many stories to tell as Kitty did, although Case was sure that when he told those stories it wasn't an ethics violation like Kitty's seemed to be. On that part she wasn't sure, and she didn't have the heart to stop Kitty when the woman had an exciting story to share. They were all excited about their jobs…both excited about their positions.

And Case…was studying plants. Four tribbles and a ship laboratory full of plants.

The only excitement in her day was when the Captain came by to ask about landing parties and the kaboom-bloom exploded all over him.

Case checked her chronometer, and moved the plant to the back of her lab, as a knock sounded at the door. "Enter."

Captain Kirk strolled into the lab, gold command shirt somehow gleaming in the light, "Hello Miss Cassidy, how are you today?"

"The answer's no, James," Case said, grabbing her PADD.

"But you don't know—"

"You always come in, two days before an away mission, asking me if I want to join the landing party." Case shrugged, looking at the kaboom-bloom. "The one time you ordered me you had to find a replacement because I didn't show up at the transporter."

"I don't get it," Kirk said, moving to sit on one of the silver lab tables positioned in the middle of the room.

"Don't get what?"

"You were a member of the X-Men, sort of a member of the Avengers…" Case stood straighter and turned to face him, "Why don't you want to go on an away mission?"

"You've been reading my file again?"

"Quick earth history lesson," Kirk shrugged. "The Siren…that's what they called you."

Case shrugged, "That's right…it was my mutant name."

"See, I'm surprised it wasn't something else," Kirk folded his arms, "Like Slash or the Impaler…"

"Tony and Clint called me 'Slash'…didn't feel right either to use that name," Case shrugged, "Too obvious…plus Vlad the Impaler…"

"Tony…oh you mean Tony Stark…who was the Iron Man."

"Iron Man…two words, that's it."

"And I'm guessing Captain America is the father of your kid…after all according to the pictures Stevie looks just like him and you gave him the same name."

"If I go with the landing party will it end this conversation?" Case finally asked.

"Nope," Kirk shook his head. "I'm curious about all these guys."

"Captain America wore a shield and was the subject of an enhancement experiment," Case said, "Iron Man was the rich guy who had the money to build about fifty suits made of an iron alloy. Black Widow was a master assassin, along with Hawkeye who was good with arrows, and the Hulk was the victim of a science experiment gone wrong…did I leave anything out?"

"Yeah…why were you the Siren?"

"I will go with the landing party if you stop asking me questions," Case snapped. "Contrary to what you must think, I don't wish to talk about them right now. I have read Earth's history; I know how their stories end…my friends…both Avengers and X-Men alike, are _gone_." She turned away as she felt tears spring into her eyes.

She could hear the captain shifting on the table, "Case I…"

She scrubbed at her eyes, wiping the unshed tears away, and then after she took a deep breath she turned to face him. "It's just a touchy subject for me, all right? Maybe someday we can share a beer and I'll tell you about them all…hell I might even tell you about how I woke up three years ago in a freakin' cryogenics tube. But for right now? I'm Lieutenant Howlett, a simple science officer for Starfleet, and that's all I want to be."

Kirk studied her for a minute, and then bluntly said, "Bullshit."

Case raised her eyebrows, "I beg your pardon?"

"I understand it's a touchy subject…but I don't think you want to be that lowly science officer. I think you wanted something better."

Case simply rolled her eyes and turned back toward the kaboom-bloom. "Believe what you want, Captain."

"What, were you just going along for the ride because your brother and friend were enlisting?" Kirk asked. "You miss your old life like it was a missing limb. It's been three years since you woke up, right? And you still shed tears over it like they just defrosted you yesterday."

"So? They were my friends!"

"I understand…don't get me wrong, I really do understand," Kirk said, throwing his hands up in defense as he saw Case's eyes burn with rage. "But, I hate to be blunt here Lieutenant, but as you said they are gone. They're not coming back, and I doubt they'd want you to hide away and wallow in misery. I'd assume that they'd want you to continue living not hiding."

"I'm not hiding."

"You come to your lab, you go to the rec room for food, then you go to your quarters," Kirk told her. "Spock noticed this pattern, and is concerned."

"Spock is concerned?"

"Okay, Uhura is concerned, and Spock is concerned because Uhura is concerned," Kirk shrugged. "She thought it was strange that you're rarely seen anywhere on the ship." He stood straighter and headed for the door, "Oh, and by the way, she's babysitting your son on the bridge."

"What why?"

"My guess would be a jail break," Kirk shrugged. "Somehow he made his way to the bridge and started asking questions. My shift is over so I volunteered to go find you." He smiled, "He's a cute kid…very curious about the ships…might make a good captain someday."

Case chuckled at that, "I'd rather see him a Starfleet captain over an Avengers captain." She headed for the door, which hissed open.

Stepping into the hall, Kirk asked, "Why is that?"

Case shrugged as she started walking in the direction of the bridge, "If it was what he chose, then that would be fine. I just don't want him thinking he has to be an Avenger because his father was…though where the shield went after all was said and done is a mystery to me."

"Are the Avengers even around anymore?" Kirk asked, confused.

The mutant gave a chuckle, "No…they're pretty much long gone. I was just saying that if it had been an option for him to take the shield, I'd have wanted that to be his choice, not his obligation."

"You also assume he'd want to be Captain America, and not anyone else."

"True I do…I can at least imagine that if he'd actually met his father he'd want to be like him," Case shrugged.

"I'm curious though…" Kirk hesitated, rubbing at the back of his neck, "How did _you_ meet his father?"

"I worked for SHIELD," Case explained. "Director Fury assigned me to work with Steve, to teach him about all the stuff he'd missed while he was on ice. One thing led to another…and then I got frozen in a cryogenics tube."

"And I didn't even have to buy you a beer for that one," Kirk chuckled as the two reached the turbolift that led to the bridge.

"True…but again it's in my file that I worked for SHIELD," Case pointed out.

"Fair enough…but not how you became the Siren."

"Nice try," Case said as the lift doors hissed shut. "It was just a nickname, Jim. That's all."

"Alright, fine, so it was," Kirk said, leaning against the wall of the lift.

The lift came to a stop, and the doors hissed open, allowing the two to enter the bridge.

"But if it's just a nickname then why won't you tell me?" Kirk asked as Uhura turned her chair to face them.

"Why do you want to know so badly?" Case asked.

"He has this thing about names…he kept hounding me for mine till Spock said it in front of him," Uhura pointed out.

"See?" Kirk asked.

"Let me guess, you won't tell him why they called you Siren?" Uhura asked.

"_She_ knows?"

"Yes, Jim, I do have a life outside of my lab…" At Uhura's look, she amended, "Not much of one I admit…but I do have one."

"Hi Mommy!" Stevie called from one of the front chairs. The toddler was standing near Chekov, who quickly turned back to face the view screen showing the large expanse of stars. Sulu manned the seat beside him, also keeping his eyes toward the view screen. Stevie walked over to his mother, beaming up at her with an innocent smile.

"Hi Stevie…what are you doing up here?" Case asked, kneeling down to his level.

"Uncle Wyder fell aseep," Stevie shrugged, "So I went 'sploring."

"I see…" Case's mouth folded into a thin line as she tried not to laugh at that, before standing straight as she took the boy's hand in hers, "Well let's go back to our room and have a chat with Uncle Ryder."

"Okay," Stevie said, then turned to the three-man-crew on the bridge, "Bye-bye."

"Bye," The trio chorused as Case led her son back into the turbolift.


	6. Chapter 6

**Case, Ryder, and Stevie are mine...everybody else belongs to their respective universes/creators. I'm just a college student, borrowing these characters for my own fun and enjoyment, and hopefully yours as well. All for fun and none for profit and all that jazz.**

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The two days had passed, and as promised, Case showed up in the transporter room to beam down to the nearby Starfleet outpost with Spock and Scotty.

As the hours passed, the rest of the _Enterprise _crew went about their daily routines. Save for one lone person on the ship…Stevie had decided once again to leave his quarters and explore the ship. His uncle was always tired lately, too tired to play games with him, which led Stevie to take it upon himself to go find someone else to play with.

The morning started as usual – his mother wearing the blue dress that she had "one for every day" in the closet, the one that had the silver triangle thing on the left shoulder. She pulled on her black boots just as Uncle Ryder showed up, and Mommy kissed Stevie goodbye as she always did, and as the door hissed shut Uncle Ryder said, "We're going to have a lot of fun today."

But after building a few stacks of blocks, Uncle Ryder once again fell asleep, slumped back against Mommy's bed.

Frowning that once again his uncle had fallen asleep, Stevie decided to try to follow his mother – surely she would play with him and not fall asleep. How was it that his Mommy or his Auntie Kitty could play with him, but Uncle Ryder always fell asleep?

After using a chair to activate the lock mechanism – and wasn't he a smart little three-year-old for figuring that out – with a deck of "Go Fish" cards in hand the child wandered out into the halls of the starship.

Unfortunately, Stevie didn't have enough experience wandering the ship by himself to know where to find things, and soon found himself lost as he tried to find a familiar face.

His shift having just ended, a starving Jim Kirk entered the turbolift, planning to head for the rec room. His stomach had been growling so loudly that when his shift ended Uhura snapped at him to go get a sandwich.

It was when he stepped off that he saw Stevie wandering down the hall with a deck of cards in his hand.

"Hey shorty," Jim called, catching the boy's attention. The kid smiled and jogged over to him, which made Jim kneel to his level, "What are you doing out here kid?"

"Uncle Wyder fell asleep again, so I went lookin' for someone to play with," Stevie explained, "I tried to find my Mommy, but I couldn't find her lab-place."

"She went on an away mission, Stevie, I'm sorry, she's not here," Jim frowned. "And your uncle's been falling asleep a lot lately hasn't he?"

Stevie nodded, and then looked at his deck of cards, "You want to play with me?"

Jim's stomach growled loudly again, which made the three-year-old giggle. His stomach would have to wait though, and he said, "I'm sure your uncle's worried about you, Stevie. Let's go find him first."

"Okay…" Stevie frowned, falling into step beside Jim, grabbing his hand so they wouldn't get separated.

"Maybe your uncle will wanna play with you," Jim pointed out.

"He always falls asleep when playing…we were building towers and he fell asleep."

"Weird…"

"Why'd you send my Mommy off the ship?" Stevie then asked. "Did she do something bad?"

Jim chuckled, "Of course not. Your Mommy's a good crew member. But with what she does aboard ship, I wanted her to join landing parties."

"What that?"

"A small group of people that beam down to planets, to do various jobs," Jim explained. "I asked your Mom to go down to the planet we're near with Commander Spock and Scotty so she could help them do their jobs."

"Can I go too?" Stevie suddenly asked. "I wanna go on an away mission!"

Jim chuckled, "Maybe someday kid…maybe someday."

"Why not now?" The child asked, a frown causing his lower lip to stick out.

"Well you're not a member of Starfleet. When you become a member of Starfleet you can go on away missions too," Jim said matter-of-factly.

"When can I do that?"

"When you're a grown-up."

Stevie gave a huff of annoyance, "when's that gonna be?"

Jim chuckled, "Sooner than you think kid, sooner than you think."

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**So I'm not sure if that actually would happen, or if Jim was OOC, but I hope it didn't sound too bad...love it, hate it? Let me know...I thrive on reviews...btw, this chapter looked a lot longer in Microsoft Word...**


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